Individual serving tray



Oct. 6, 1964 B. B. JONES INDIVIDUAL SERVING TRAY Filed Aug. 13, 1962 2Sheets-Sheet 1 8088) 8. JONES Oct. 6, 1964 B. B. JONES INDIVIDUALSERVING TRAY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 15, 1962 l l i l I i I I I l II l I v lllllll|l |lll 2 1 //4 L I fI/O 3 BOBBY B. JONES ATTORNEYSUnited States Patent 3,151,577 INDIVIDUAL SERVING TRAY Bobby B. Jones,Ocala, Fla., assignor to Kenneth MacKay,

Ocala, F 121.; George L. MacKay, Kenneth H. Mac- Kay, 31:, and Julia F.MacKay, co-executors of Kenneth MacKay, deceased Filed Aug. 13, 1962,Ser. No. 216,474 4 Claims. (Cl. 108-46) This invention relates to traysand more particularly to individual serving trays specifically adaptedand useful in facilitating the handling and serving of food andbeverages at drive-in restaurants and the like where meals are eaten inautomobiles.

There has long been a need for individual serving trays which couldsomehow be securely mounted within an automobile so that theinconveniences normally encountered when eating in an automobile whereinall of the food and beverages are served from one large tray and eachperson is required to hold his own food and drink could be eliminated.With this in mind the serving tray of this invention has been designedto fully overcome such inconvenience and even make it possible to eatwithin the automobile while it is travelling without the possibility ofspilling food or beverage. It is felt that this will greatly enhancethis trays attractiveness to drive-ins since people will now be able tobuy their meals and proceed upon their way without taking up parkingspace which is always at a premium.

In View of the foregoing it is an object of this invention to provide anindividual serving tray which is readily mountable on a vehicle door orthe like wherein there is a space provided between the doors windowmolding and the glass.

It is another object to provide a tray which is collapsible and readilyerectible for use.

It is yet another object to provide a tray adapted to be made from asingle blank thus affording maximum economy in material and simplicityin assembly.

It is a still further object to provide a unitary tray held in assembledposition by means of locks and tabs stuck from the blank itself.

It is another object to provide paperboard trays which may be shippedflat and assembled at point of use.

The above and other objects will become more apparent when taken inconjunction with the following detailed description and drawings,showing by way of example, a preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of the completed tray blank prior to assembly;

FIGURE 2 is an end elevational view of the tray in assembled position;

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view of the tray positioned for use on a vehicledoor;

FEGURE 4 is a perspective view of the erected tray; and

FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional veiw taken along line 55 of FIGURE 3.

As illustrated, the tray comprises a top portion 12 having a rectangularopening 14 struck therefrom. The portion cut away in forming rectangularopening 14 is used to form two divider and support panels 16 and 18hinged about lines 29 and 22 respectively in the top 12. A circularopening 24 is also formed in the top on the side of top opposite that ofthe rectangular opening 14. As is customary in such devices when anopening is made to receive cups, glasses and the like of varyingdiameters hemispherical tab-like elements 26 extend inwardly from theedge of the opening to accommodate these various diameters.

A front generally vertical panel 28 extends downwardly from top portion12. A downwardly directed arcuate 3,151,577 Patented Oct. 6, 1964 icebottom portion 3% extends from the lower edge of front panel 28. Thebottom portion 30 extends rearwardly and upwardly to meet with the topportion 12 along its rear edge 32. A top spacer panel portion 34 extendsrearwardly from the rear edge 32 of the top portion 12. A top fiatportion 36 extends from the rear edge of top spacer panel 34. A bottomspacer panel portion 38 proects rearwardly from the rear edge of bottomportion 30 where it meets the top portion 12 This bottom spacer panel 38is of the same size as the top spacer panel 34 and is fitted firmlythereagainst. Actually, in most instances the two spacer panels areglued together although other means could be used to hold the twotogether. A bottom flap member 4%) projects from the rear edge of bottomspacer panel 38 and is generally coinciding with the top flap 36.

As will be noted the bottom flap 40 is somewhat shorter than top flap 36and has serrated side edge portions 42 for aiding in holding the flapsin the space between the door molding and the glass member. The top flap36 and the bottom flap 40 as secured together by spaced bands ofadhesive which run perpendicularly with respect to the long dimension ofthe flaps so as to furnish additional reinforcement for the flaps andthereby make it possible to use paperboard of a somewhat lighter weight.

In order to retain the tray in erected position divider panels 16 and 18are secured downwardly to engage the bottom 30 so that tabs 5t) and 51will engage and fit into apertures 52 and 53 in said bottom portion.Thus the divider panels 16 and 18 serve a dual function, namely, to actas tray partitions and also to retain the tray in erected position.

The completed blank 60 from which the tray of this invention is formedis shown in plan view in FIGURE 1 and comprises a rectangular portion 62having divider panels 64 and 65 struck therefrom so as to hinge alonglines 66 and 67, respectively, and thereby form a generally rectangularopening 68. In addition, a generally circular aperture 70 is cut in therectangular portion 62 with tabs 72 projecting inwardly from theperiphery of the aperture. The rectangular portion 62 is adapted to formthe top portion of the tray.

A second rectangular portion '72 extends from forward edge 74 of thefirst rectangular and is adapted to swing downwardly to form the frontvertical panel of the tray. A third rectangular portion 73 extends fromedge 76 of second rectangular portion 72. This third rectangular portion78 is adapted for folding downwardly and then rearwardly and upwardly sothat its outer edge 80 will tures S4 and 86 are struck from thirdrectangular portion 62, thus, forming the bottom of the tray. A pair ofapertures S4 and 86 are struck from third rectangular portion 78 and areadapted to receive tabs 86 and 88 on divider panels 64 and 65 when thetray is in erected position.

A fourth rectangular portion 90 extends from forward edge of rectangularportion 78 and is adapted to project rearwardly therefrom to constitutethe bottom spacer panel. A panel portion 92 extends from edge 94 ofrectangular portion and forms the bottom flap member in the completedtray. The side edges 96, 98 of panel portion 92 are serrated to affordbetter gripping action.

A panel portion 1% extends from edge 82 of rectangular portion 62 and isadapted to form the top spacer panel. A second panel portion 102 extendsfrom the edge 104 of panel portion and forms the top flap member.

In assembling the blank prior to shipment the rectangular portion 90 isglued to panel portion ltltl and rectangular portion 92 is glued topanel 192 by means of spaced bands 1% of adhesive which runperpendicularly to the long dimension of the rectangular portion 92.With the tray in fiat condition and glued as set forth above, the

front panel 23 will be in a horizontal plane in alignment with the topportion 12 and the bottom portion 36 will bear fiat against these twoportions of the tray.

As illustrated in FIGURE 2, when it is desired to erect the tray thedivider panels 16 and 18 are swung down wardly thereby causing thebottom 30 to assume a curved shape generally corresponding to that ofthe lower edge of the divider panels. At the same time the front panel28 swings downwardly as indicated by the arrow from its flat positionsuch as it was in when the tray was shipped. The divider panels areswung into position so that their tabs 50 and 51 will fit into apertures52 and 53 respectively as best shown in FIGURE 4. The top and bottomflaps 36 and 40 are then folded downwardly as indicated in dotted linesin FIGURE 4- and the tray is then ready for use.

With the tray in fully erected condition it is now time to use the trayfor its intended purpose. For this, attention is directed to FIGURES 3and of the drawings wherein the tray is shown as it is mounted on avehicle door. The flaps 36 and 4%) are placed down in space 110 formedbetween the windows molding 112 and the window glass 114. The spacerportion of the tray formed by top and bottom spacer portions 34 and 38rests on the top horizontal portion 116 of the window molding 114. Thus,the bottom portion 39 of the tray will to a small degree rest on thewindow molding depending on the shape of same. A cup may be positionedin the tray as indicated in phantom in FIGURE 5.

The tray of this invention is generally made from paperboard, however,it is contemplated that plastic sheeting may be used.

I claim:

1. A collapsible tray adapted to be supported on a vehicle door or thelike wherein there is a panel member and a glass member spacedtherefrom, said tray comprising a top portion, a front panel extendingdownwardly from the forward edge of said top portion, a downwardlydirected arcuate bottom portion extending from the low- 4 or edge of thefront panel, said bottom portion extending rearwardly and upwardly andengaging the rearward edge portion of the top portion the combined widthof the top portion and the front panel being equal to the width of thearcuate bottom portion so that tray may be shipped fiat with the topportion and front panel lying against the bottom portion, a top spacerpanel portion extending from the rear edge of the top portion, a bottomspacer panel extending from the rear edge of the bottom portion parallelto and coinciding with the top spacer panel, means securing the twospacer panels together, and flap means hingedly connected to therearward edge of the spacer panels, said flap means being adapted to fitdown between the panel member and the glass member to hold the tray inposition on the vehicle door.

2. The invention as described in claim 1 and wherein the top portion hasat least one opening therein adapted to receive food or a beveragecontainer and at least one divider panel hingedly secured to the topportion and engaging the bottom portion to retain the tray in erectedposition.

3. The invention as described in claim 2 wherein the flap meanscomprises a flap extending from the rearward edge of the top spacerpanel and a coinciding flap extending from the rearward edge of thebottom spacer panel and means for securing together the flaps andreinforcing the flap means.

4. The invention as described in claim 3 and wherein the flap extendingfrom the bottom spacer panel is serrated along its side edge portions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,915,958 Skirrow June 27, 1933 2,546,812 Anderson Mar. 27, 19512,695,712 Kolander Nov. 30, 1954 2,808,191 Cramer Oct. 1, 1957 2,906,412Tanner Sept. 29, 1959

1. A COLLAPSIBLE TRAY ADAPTED TO BE SUPPORTED ON A VEHICLE DOOR OR THE LIKE WHEREIN THERE IS A PANEL MEMBER AND A GLASS MEMBER SPACED THEREFROM, SAID TRAY COMPRISING A TOP PORTION, A FRONT PANEL EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY FROM THE FORWARD EDGE OF SAID TOP PORTION, A DOWNWARDLY DIRECTED ARCUATE BOTTOM PORTION EXTENDING FROM THE LOWER EDGE OF THE FRONT PANEL, SAID BOTTOM PORTION EXTENDING REARWARDLY AND UPWARDLY AND ENGAGING THE REARWARD EDGE PORTION OF THE TOP PORTION THE COMBINED WIDTH OF THE TOP PORTION AND THE FRONT PANEL BEING EQUAL TO THE WIDTH OF THE ARCUATE BOTTOM PORTION SO THAT TRAY MAY BE SHIPPED FLAT WITH THE TOP PORTION AND FRONT PANEL LYING AGAINST THE BOTTOM PORTION, A TOP SPACER PANEL PORTION EXTENDING FROM THE REAR EDGE OF THE TOP PORTION, A BOTTOM SPACER PANEL EXTENDING FROM THE REAR EDGE OF THE BOTTOM PORTION PARALLEL TO AND COINCIDING WITH THE TOP SPACER PANEL, MEANS SECURING THE TWO SPACER PANELS TOGETHER, AND FLAP MEANS HINGEDLY CONNECTED TO THE REARWARD EDGE OF THE SPACER PANELS, SAID FLAP MEANS BEING ADAPTED TO FIT DOWN BETWEEN THE PANEL MEMBER AND THE GLASS MEMBER TO HOLD THE TRAY IN POSITION ON THE VEHICLE DOOR. 